And the Overreaction of the Month is .

Wednesday

May 7, 2014 at 11:11 AMMay 7, 2014 at 12:55 PM

There have been so many instances of overreaction recently that my head is starting to spin. We had Adam Silver going nuclear over the LA Clippers, a reaction which was grossly disproportional to anything rational. Then we had Brandeis cancelling the speech of Ayaan Hirsi Ali because, god forbid, she might actually accurately report that Muslim women and girls aren’t treated well in certain Islamic societies, and then Condaleeza Rice had to withdraw from speaking at Rutgers because, well, she is a war criminal arising out of Iraq and her comments might pollute the pure ears of New Jersey state residents.

And then we had the glorious Cinco De Drinko scandal at University of California Davis. For those who missed that one, a group of students were going to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a party called Cinco de Drinko, and “100 students enacted a sit in at the Coffee House, wearing red shirts and chanting slogans. They called for a boycott of the student-run cafe and cafeteria, successfully scuttling plans for the off-campus party.” The students planning the event are now being disciplined and are being required to attend “mandatory diversity” training. By the way, when I lived in San Francisco and attended a Jesuit school, the La Raza Law Students sponsored a Cinco de Drinko event, and some of the Jesuit fathers came to the party wearing sombreros. The following year, Cinco de Mayo came out on the fifth day of the Jewish month of Iyar, so my Jewish Law Students Union and Raza co-sponsored “Cinco-de -Drinko/Cinco-de-Iyar” and we had pictures of car washes that some people would be seen in, and some wouldn’t be caught dead in. And, yes, the Jesuit fathers showed up to that event as well. So, I’m sorry, but what’s the problem at Davis?

And then we have the criminal prosecution of three skydivers who jumped off the World Trade Center. that’s right. They are being prosecuted. For jumping off the World Trade Center in the middle of the night. By way of disclosure, I asked Port Authority back in 1999 if I could do the same thing, so I’m trying to figure out the crime here. Oh, wait, here it is: According to AP, “Police Commissioner William Bratton last month called the stunt ‘a desecration of the site.’ He said it invoked memories of those who jumped from the burning twin towers on Sept. 11.” I’m sorry, but that quote is too much of a target rich environment for further comment.

Part of living in a pluralistic society with a Constitution is that we have a freedom of thought and freedom of speech. We live with a diverse range of people who think and believe certain things. Part of the pleasure of this country is the joy of the marketplace of ideas, which comes with it the potential to be offended. Our Constitution requires that we live with a diversity of feelings and opinions. We do not shut down speech and thought because it might offend. Our Constitution protects us from actions which discriminate, but nothing in the Constitution grants the right to shut down people whose ideas bother us. We have become way to sensitive as a society, and it is fast becoming ridiculous. To me, the people who need diversity training are not the organizers of a cinco-de-drinko event or even a toga party, but rather the 100 students who feel the need to engage in economic extortion to have their feelings protected. This is absurd. And if anything is tearing this country apart, it is a growing lack of ability to individuals to live and let live. Sure, if you are harmed by actions, you have a remedy. But stopping an off-campus party is the greatest injustice that you can find to fight? Oh, please.

Rob Meltzer

There have been so many instances of overreaction recently that my head is starting to spin. We had Adam Silver going nuclear over the LA Clippers, a reaction which was grossly disproportional to anything rational. Then we had Brandeis cancelling the speech of Ayaan Hirsi Ali because, god forbid, she might actually accurately report that Muslim women and girls aren’t treated well in certain Islamic societies, and then Condaleeza Rice had to withdraw from speaking at Rutgers because, well, she is a war criminal arising out of Iraq and her comments might pollute the pure ears of New Jersey state residents.

And then we had the glorious Cinco De Drinko scandal at University of California Davis. For those who missed that one, a group of students were going to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a party called Cinco de Drinko, and “100 students enacted a sit in at the Coffee House, wearing red shirts and chanting slogans. They called for a boycott of the student-run cafe and cafeteria, successfully scuttling plans for the off-campus party.” The students planning the event are now being disciplined and are being required to attend “mandatory diversity” training. By the way, when I lived in San Francisco and attended a Jesuit school, the La Raza Law Students sponsored a Cinco de Drinko event, and some of the Jesuit fathers came to the party wearing sombreros. The following year, Cinco de Mayo came out on the fifth day of the Jewish month of Iyar, so my Jewish Law Students Union and Raza co-sponsored “Cinco-de -Drinko/Cinco-de-Iyar” and we had pictures of car washes that some people would be seen in, and some wouldn’t be caught dead in. And, yes, the Jesuit fathers showed up to that event as well. So, I’m sorry, but what’s the problem at Davis?

And then we have the criminal prosecution of three skydivers who jumped off the World Trade Center. that’s right. They are being prosecuted. For jumping off the World Trade Center in the middle of the night. By way of disclosure, I asked Port Authority back in 1999 if I could do the same thing, so I’m trying to figure out the crime here. Oh, wait, here it is: According to AP, “Police Commissioner William Bratton last month called the stunt ‘a desecration of the site.’ He said it invoked memories of those who jumped from the burning twin towers on Sept. 11.” I’m sorry, but that quote is too much of a target rich environment for further comment.

Part of living in a pluralistic society with a Constitution is that we have a freedom of thought and freedom of speech. We live with a diverse range of people who think and believe certain things. Part of the pleasure of this country is the joy of the marketplace of ideas, which comes with it the potential to be offended. Our Constitution requires that we live with a diversity of feelings and opinions. We do not shut down speech and thought because it might offend. Our Constitution protects us from actions which discriminate, but nothing in the Constitution grants the right to shut down people whose ideas bother us. We have become way to sensitive as a society, and it is fast becoming ridiculous. To me, the people who need diversity training are not the organizers of a cinco-de-drinko event or even a toga party, but rather the 100 students who feel the need to engage in economic extortion to have their feelings protected. This is absurd. And if anything is tearing this country apart, it is a growing lack of ability to individuals to live and let live. Sure, if you are harmed by actions, you have a remedy. But stopping an off-campus party is the greatest injustice that you can find to fight? Oh, please.

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